Alarm



Aug. 26, 1930. A. c. BRUECKMANN ALARM Filed Aug. 6, 1927 F701;.

4 Sheets-Sheer Aug" 26, 1930.

ALARM Filed Aug. 6, 1927 A. c7 BRUECKMANN Gut-Tonnage 26 1930. A, c. BRUECKMANN ALARM Filed Aug. 6, 1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Aug. 26, 1930 P TENT OEQE' AID'OLPE G. BRUECKMANN, 6F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR T BRUEGKMANN BANK ALARM, INC, A CORFOBATION OF MARYLAND ALARM Application filed August 6, 1927. 7 Serial No. 211,689.

This invention relates to signalling devices and is particularly, though not exclusively, adapted for use as an alarm.

Heretoiore numerous devices have been suggested for use as burglar, fire and similar I The alarms of the mechanical type present the advantage of low maintenance costs.

They are inferior to the electrical devices in some respects and more particularly because they do not operate automatically upon the manipulation of the actuating mechanism.

Many mechanical devices of this character have been proposed as burglar alarms. The majority of these lack the desiderataof such systems, such as quick and positive operation, the adaptability of actuation without perceptible movement on the part of the operator and projsions against accidental operation. It is now recognized that on many occasions, of which a bank robbery is a typical example, an alarm which can be operated solely by hand is well nigh useless for protective purposes. To subserve its proper function the device should be susceptible of operation by a bank employee in such amanner as to avoid suspicion of, as well as to preclude detection by, the hold up man.-

It is an object of this invention to provide a mechanical alarm which is quick and positive in operation.

Another object is to provide a device of this character which is automatically operable after an initial actuating movement has been imparted to it.

Another object is to devise an alarm of the character referred to which is automatically open ale upon the disconnection of its actuating mechanism.

Yet another object is to provide a mechanical alarm which may be actuated without perceptible effort on the part of the operator.

A still further object is to provide an alarm which is protected against accidental operation.

/Vith these and other equally important objects in view the invention comprehends the provision of an alarm sounding device and a tensioned actuating meansadapted to be released by a slight movement, requiring a minimum oi effort.

To enable others to understand more read ily the underlying principles of the invention, l have shown a preferred embodiment of it in the accompanying drawings. In these the same reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views of which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view showing the alarm control and transmission mechanism;

F 2 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of the actuating mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross section taken on line 4- 1 of Fig. 2;

F 5 is an enlarged elevational view of the operating mechanism of the gong;

Fig. 6 is sectional view of the portion or the device shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail of the trip mechanism for the gong;

8 is an enlarged perspective of the transmission levers shown in Fig. 1

Fig. 9 is a detail of the operating lever shown in 7;

Fig. 10 illustrates a modification of the invention showing the means for indicating the position or" the operator;

11 is a vertical section taken on line 1111 of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a perspective of the indicating means.

As shown in Fig. 1 the assemblage comprises essentially a foot trip mechanism 1 connected through normally tensioned cables 2 and transmission mechanism 3 to an alarm.

As shown particularly in Figs. 2, 3 and 4:, there is provided an actuating mechanism which is normally retained in inoperative position by a releasable latch. More specifically the mechanism comprises a housing having the top and bottom walls i and rear and end walls 5 and 5. The inner side wall is provided with a stub shaft This may be formed integrally with or detacha ely of the casingtwall.

At its upper portion the wall 5 of the easing is apertured at 7. Extending in o the aperture and secured to the wall by any suitable means is a second stub shaft- 8. Adjacent toe shaft. as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the casing wall is formed with a hrs; 9 adapts ed to serve moun for r leas .9; mechanism. Since the parts which have been described carried by the ca n it is obvious that they m y be formed integrally therewith as by casting. soldering, brazi of. weld ing or the like, or they may be detach ably secured thereto as convenience or feas bility may dictate.

The rear wall of tee with a. protruding contra J The aperture may be, and threaded to register with a co ITSDODdlnglY threaded terminal por ion of a tubular cas- 12 cooperate with the N LS int: 11. The lock EELS tube, apertured lip 10 and casi mit a longitudinal adpistment with respect to the casingand to ice members in any determinative posit adjustment. It will be a reciated fr. foregoing that the inner wall of may, if desired, be formed the rear and top wall to form an cpei housing.

As shovn particularly in Fi 3 front wall. of the casing cut away stantia t extent to provide an enlai opei in g, the purpose of which will appear directly. Mounted on the sub-shaft G for rotat ve movement is an. opera ulley 13. This prmrided with a central inte ral collar 11 adapted to support an anti-fr ctional s such. balls and coacting races, all

iated generally by the num and 15. The pulley is cylindrical in cross sectio thro out slightly more than half of i" and has an integral and subst gential extension .26. At its extension is curved slightly with lateral flanges to form 1 The web of the pulley is laterally d .U or otherwise ester form a 1" atively wide rim 1 formed r. it 1. a circumferei reception of the operating cable :i. il 'th s. i

a StlllCtUlG the cable is re ained in the d: position and lateral slippafa eluded. Adjacentits mare" flange or rim 18 extended. at 19. to form an abutment lu T his may be apertured, shown in Figs. 2 and 8, to receive and secure the terminal of the cable. Intermediate the hub and the rim, the web of the pulley is provided with a protruding lug 20. [is will be seen from an inspect-ion of Fig. l, this is segmental in shape, presenting curved and flat faces adapted to coact with the releasing mechanism. The trip or releasing mechanism comprises a member adapted to normally retain the pulley in a fixed position and its attached cable under terion, in iu'ldition to means to move the member to allow for actuation of the pulley and consequently the gong. More .peciiically this mechanism includes a bell crank lever which is mounted for oscillation on the stub shaft 9. The lever comprehends a horizo ital arm 21 and a vertical arm, 22. The arm 21 is tapered and is formed at its extremity with a depending lip 28, having a flat interior f: ee. The verti al arm of the lever has attached, near its end, the angularly extending arm This. arm (Figs. 3 andd) n-otrudes through a slot 2;", cut out of the side wall 5 of the casino. It will, of course, be understood that the arm may be attached to the lever in any dcsired manner.

Mounted on the stub s 1' tion thereon a haaoger 2:). vertically from the pivot 8 and 2 end is provided with a tubular The hanger is preter; 'ily formed strengthening flange extendin the tubular portion a substantial d1 the side of shank of the hanger.

As will be seen from Fig. 2, the tubular extension 27 is adapted to receive an elongated rail 29. The other one i f the rail is inserted in hollow tubular portion 30 of a hanger 31. This hanger may be similar in structure to the hanger 26. These members may be of standardized construction and hence interchangeable. The hanger 1 supported for pivotal movement on the shaft 32. The shaft 32 is appropriately secured in an elongated collar formed integral with the support It is desirable that the b of the support. be extended on the bottom, shown at 35. so as to provide a relatively wide bearing surface. If desired, the support may be encased by a housingSS.

Extending between the housing}; mechanism for the pulley and the housing 33 so as to form a substantially continuous structure is a top plate 3'? and a rear or bitching plate 38. The top plate is provided with a depending frontal portion corresponding in length to the front plate of the pulley casing (Fig. Upon the plate 39 is secured a curved flange l0. This flange extends well. over the foot lever 17. The purpose of this member is to protect against accidental movement of either the rail 29 or the pedal 17. It will be seen theref ie that the memb as 37.. 39 and 40 form in effect a housing for the entire operating mechanism precluding for oscillah s depends t lower ester. .i n

I chanical Stl'llCtlHES accidental displacement of the operating mechanism and insuring maximum safety.

As has been indicated hereinbefore the cable 2 and its protective sheath 11 extend from the bottom of the pulley casing and are connected through a suitable transmisslon mechanism, to a gong. I prefer to pro: vide a plurality of the operating means placed at easily accessible positions in the building which is to be protected. These may be connected through a suitable transfer box to the signalling device. In Fig. 1 I have shown a preferred method of accomplishing this. It will be appreciated that this represents but one of the specific mewhich may be utilized for this purpose. i

In Fig. 1 there is shown plurality of the actuating devices such as have already been described. From the bottom of each casing a sheath 11 and its enclosed operating cable 2 project in the manner hereinbefore described. Situated at any desirable and convenient place in the building is a transfer box 41 into which the several operating cables extend. Secured to a wall of the casing are a plurality of apertured plates 42. These are similar in structure and function to the member in each pulley casing, that is to say these members in conjunction with the lock nuts 43 serve to fix the end of the sheath 11 in any desired position of adjustment. It will. be understood the lock nuts 43 may cooperate only with the bottom flange of the casing in order to fix the position of the terminal of the sheath. In such a case the apertured plate serves as a guide for the unencased portion of the cable 2.

The motion transmission mechanism to which the several cables are connected is shown in Figs. 1 and 8. This comprises essentially a system of floating levers mounted at one point for pivotal movement. More specifically the system includes a main lever 44 to which is pivotally connected a series of secondary levers. The main lever is formed at one end with an apertured collar 45. A pivot bolt 46 protrudes through the collar and is secured to the back of the casing 41 to mount the lever for pivotal movement. The free end of lever 44 is provided with an arcuate plate 47 which may be formed integrally with or separately from the lever. At its lower extremity the plate is angularly extended beyond the curvilinear surface to provide a holding lug or abutment 48. As is shown particularly in 8 this lug is slotted to receive the end of the section 2' of the cable. The cable may be fixed to the lug by any conventional securing means 49.

Intermediate its ends the lever 44 is apertured to pivotally secure one end of a connecting link 50. At its other end the link is pivotally attached to the median portion of a full floating lever 51. The lever 51 is so mounted that it is adapted to oscillate about its point of connection with the link 50 and to move vertically with the lever 44. At its free ends the floating lever 51 is apertured and the apertures are aligned with similar apertures in the bifurcations of the links 52 and 53. The bolts 52 and 53 serve to pivotally connect the links to the lever 51. The lower extremities of these links are bifurcated and straddle the cable levers 54 and The lower end of the links are pivoted to the cable levers through the intermediacy of the bolts 54 and 55'.

The cable levers 54 and 55 are identical and hence but one need be described. It is to be noted, as is shown in F 8 that these and the links 5:2 and 53 are interchangeable and reversible. This provision assures economies in manufacture and easy installation and replacement. The cable lever is provided at each end with a segment or arcuate plate 56 similar to plate 47. At its upper end the plate is extended laterally to present a terminal lug 57 which serves as an abutment for the end of he operating cable 2. The cable may be secured to the lug by a shackle 58 or any suitable means. On inspection of Fig. 1 it wil be perceived that the cable extends through and is guided by the sheath 11 up to a point adjacent the arcuate plate 56. This precludes any great degree of lateral play of the cable with respect to the plate. If however it is desired to prevent any transverse movement and to insure against chafing of the cable, the plate may be provided with a longitudinal itshaped channel to receive the contiguous portion of the cable wire.

The system of levers comprehending the cable levers 54 and 55, the floating lever 51 and the pivoted lever 44 transmits movementof one or more of the cables 2 to the gong cable 2 in a manner to appear in detail hereinafter.

The casing 41 of the transfer junction has secured to a suitable side thereof an apertured plate 59. This may be internally threaded to register with threads on the ends of the gong cable sheath 11. A plurality of lock nuts 60 about the exterior and interior of the casing flange and the upper side of the plate fix the position of the cables. If desired the apertured platemay be utilized only as a guide for the uncovered end of the cable after the manner of the modification of the plate 42 described hereinbefore. It will be understood that these elements are susceptible of Wide variations in design and position and hence those shown are to be considered merely as typical examples.

From the transfer junction the cable 2 and its sheath 11 extend to the gong casing 61. This comprises a dish shaped plate having the circumferential flange 62. Secured to the face portion of the casing is an angle or L-shaped bracket 63 the lower face of L the sheath lar and low tuba.

will be undeis ed that the ternal cir 11111 "erential flan;

which the collar or end of the sheath a lVith the gong; a means to maintain to actuate th Pi the cable. As she. (36 is pr( vided for t this is formed Will! a bushing 67. A header. project through the collar the casing so as to allow piv ot the lever.

At its other end the ever is apertured, as at 69 tor a purpose to appear presently. A short distance from its tree end, the lever formed with an arcuate ilate 70 or a d sign similar to plates at? and rare 1 ovided a ision our This projects late; ally from the central p ne the lever 9) and is provided with the abutment lug 71. This is cut out to present the aperture 72 and a communicating; slot 723 by means 0t \hich the free end of cable 2 may be locked in position.

On the other side of its central longitudinal plane the lever is formed with laterally projecting apertured lug 7 Secured to the lug, as by bolts 75 a cam member 7 This includes a shank 77 and an integral cam plate. The shank is cut out centrally to form a longitudinal slot so that the cam mem may be adjusted longitudinally of the lug" 74:. The plate has a lower straight portion which is extended upwardly anl curved to form a cam thrust surtace, which csopcrates with the signal mechanism in a manner to appear in detail.

At the upper portion of the gong 1 late (31 there is secured an L-shaged braclret 78. The upper projecting flange of the member is apertured to permi the pas of a threaded shank 7 9. At its lower end the shank apertvred to receive an end of a helical spring 80. The other end of the saline member passes through the apcrtu 69 ot lever (36, shown in Figs. 1 and 5. The shank is held in posi tion on the bracket by the nut From the description jiven of the several parts it will he app :0. that the tension spring 80 r nds to rotate the lever 66 in a Assuming; the

sn'eral narts to be mounted 111 the coo aerative relation set by depressn movement zoi'ate direction, as viev forth,

the device may be oot lever i This l3 in a. c cclnvise 3. As the pulley rotates the outer of the horizontal arm 21 oi the be lever rides up the curved po n ot a O. ll hen the puliey is rotatee lever 21, due to it weight, will drop so that the internal sh under on the lip will abut the vertical face or" the lug 20, thereby effectively lecl ri the pul y in position.

Duriir l i th: ar certain ncgree the epre, on or the pedal 17, the .i cvellea"!tiidinallv in its sheath .c. n .ine' one eiid ot the cable its other end, th at its point 1 wi h the other cable. This ed by the broken and full the full lines representing the position 0? re parts when the pulley A has been set and the broken li s representing their position when the pul 3y has been released.

hen the mechanism is set in operative po sicion it may rel dily be actuated by releasing; the pulley from lochin e115 ,qcment with the bell crank 21. This is done by moving one of the rails :29 forward.

lever 5 ot conne:..- movement lin. '11 l As will be seen in Fig. I have provided an inclined plate 82 positioned adjacent the rail 2?. l hcn an employee, such as a bank teller, wishes to sound an alarn he can do this very simply by sliding his foot up the inclined plate and thrusting the rail. ionvardlv. It vill be appreciated that during the mo clllClltthe plate provides a. firm support am by enabling the operator to retain his balance allows him to operate the device without any perceptible movem nt of the upper portion of his body. Since the open .1 mechanism, including the rail, is placed beneath the counter in the interior of the cage, the movement of his legs are screened from view.

As the rail 29 moves "forwardly it carries vith it the hanger 26. After a predetermined forward movement the hanger abuts the arm 24 and displaces this member. The movement or the arm is transmitted to the bell crank and this lever heretore pivots about the stub shaft 9 raising; the lip 23 out of engagement with the lug 20. Since the cable and associate levers are maintained un der tension by reason oi": the spring 80, upon release of the pulley (A) the lever 44:, link 50 and that end of the floating; lever 51 connected to the cable lever will swing upwardly. This, of course, is due to the fact that there is now no resistance oflered, through the parts, to the force exerted by the spring.

As the free end of lever 44 is released the signal lever 66 is displaced correspondingly. During its upward movement the cam 76 engages a plunger mechanism to cause actuation of the gong or other signal in a manner to be particularly described.

It will be seen that upon release of any one of the several pulleys 13- a similar movement will take place, due to tne floating engagement of the lever system of the transfer unction.

When this device is installed in a relatively large establishment having a plurality of trip rails and pulleys, it is desirable to provide an indicating means to show automatically from what place the alarm is sent. In Figs. 10 and 12 l have shown a simple and effective means of accomplishing this result. This comprises essentially a plurality of shutters so designed and arranged as to register the operation of any one of the several cables. Secured to the cover 83 of the transfer junction casing 11 are, in aligned relation, two support brackets 84. Each bracket is provided with an integral flange 85 by which it may be secured to the casing cover by any suitable means. Near its diagonal corners the bracket is drilled to present the apertures 86 and 87. The aperture 2360f each bracket receives an end of a shaft 88 and the aperture 87 forms a seat for the ends of the shaft 89. Encasing the shaft 88 are a plurality of collars 90. These are loosely mounted on the shaft 88 and are rotatable on it.

The indicators comprise a pluralty of shutters. These may be made up of thin sheet metal, bronze or the like and are substantially L-shaped in cross section, having angularly disposed sections 91 and 92. The flange 92 is curved slightly at its outer end for a purpose to appear more clearly hereinafter. At the point of its two flanges the shutter may be soldered or otherwise suitably fastened to the collar 90 so as to move therewith. The short collars 90 serve to maintain the collars 90 at a definite distance from the brackets.

As will be seen in Fig. 10 there is one shutter provided for each cable 2. These are spaced from each other by the alternate collars 90 which serve also to mount the return springs 93. As shown each spring is convoluted about the collar to present the bent terminals 9 1 and a central depending loop 95. The loop abuts the cover plate 83 to provide a fixed point for the spring and the terminals engage the faces 91 of the adjacent flanges. It will be observed that the springs coact with the shutters to normally retain them against the adjacent face of the cover plate. To render the shutters visible to the observer so that their position may be noted upon inspection,

I have provided a plurality of apertures 96 in the cover plate. If desired, these may be covered with a suitable transparent substance which will protect the interior from foreign matter. If desired, the visibility of the shutter may be increased by coating the exterior surface of the plate 91 with a colored or luininous pamt.

The mechanism for operating the shutters comprises essentially a plurality of levers, each being actuated in response to movement of one of the cables. This mechanism includes the shaft 89, mounted as described, in the brackets 84. In a manner similar to the shutter assemblage a plurality of separate collars 97 are carried by the shaft and are capable of rotation therein. To each alternate collar, a shutter operating lever is fixedly secured. The lever may be constructed of a single piece of material such as sheet metal. Sheet metal has the requisite tensile strength for the purpose and may be quickly prepared by stamping. Other materials may, however, be used.

The operating lever comprises a plurality of integral angularly disposed sections. The arm section 98 is curved slightly, as at 99 to provide, in effect, a cam thrust portion which abuts the curved end of the shutter flange Thelower section of the-lever is bent to provide a flat intermediate portion 100 which is extended upwardly to present the operating flange 101. 7

As will be observed from an inspection of Fig. 11 when the device is set the faces 91 of the shutters lie against the interior face of the cover plate 83 and the flanges 92 extend substantially normal to the plate. In this position the sections 98 abut the flanges 92 and the operating flanges lie in the path of the lugs 52 on the cable levers. The parts are maintained in this position due to the force exerted by the springs 93.

The operation of the indicating mechanism is apparent from the foregoing description. I:

As one of the pulleys 13 is released its attached cable and the end of the cable lever secured thereto are moved due to the action of the spring 80. As one end of the lever 54 (or 55) moves upwardly in the transfer junction it moves the operating flanges 101 before it. This causes a pivotal movement of the lever about the shaft 89, and swings the shutter 91 downwardly, as shown graphically by the dotted line positions in Fig.

11. Since each shutter and operating lever is mounted independently on the shafts 88 and 89 respectively, they are separately operable and one shutter is depressed upon release of one of the pulleys.

The particular pulley that has been released is of course immediately apparent upon an inspection of the face plate of the transfer junction.

As has been described hereinbefore, the

operating lever 66 in addition to transmitting the force of the spring to the lever system and cables serves also as an actuating means for the gong mechanism. The gong mechanism in and of itself does not com arise an essential part of this invention. This may comprise a chain of gearing 102, 103, 104 actuated by the coil spring 105. Suitably connected to the gearing is a striker 106 which upon actuation is adapted to inter mittently strike the gong 107 in the usual manner.

Keyed to striker shaft 108 is a disk 109. This is provided with a serrated periphery, or if desired with a single projection extending beyond the periphery. Pivoted to the lock plate 110 adjacent the gong case is a double arm lever comprising the two arms 111 and 112. The arm 111 has secured thereto an eyelet 113 for the reception of the looped end of a helical spring 11%, the other end of which may be adjustably secured as by the threaded bolt 115 and its ooacting nut 116. The lever arm 112 is cut away at its lower portion to form a depending reduced extension 117.

The casing plate 110 is apertured as at 118 (Fig. 6) and the interior end is covered by the centrally perforated plate 119. The plate 119 may be secured to the casin in any desired manner. Operating within the aperture is a plunger. This inchides the plunger head 120 and rod 121. The head is formed with a protruding rim or shoulder 122. As will be seen in Fig. 6 the head is adapted to project through the central opening in the plate 119 to the limit permitted by the shoulder 122. The plunger is forced to this position by the abutting arm 112 of the lever under the action of the spring 11 1. During such movement the plunger rod 121 is guided by the central aperture of a guide plate 123.

The normal position of the parts is shown in Fig. 7. In position the shoulder 122 abuts this contiguous portion of plate 119 and the rounded plunger head protrudes through the plate, lying in the path of upward movement of cam 7 6, and is maintained in this position by the cooperating lever 111 and spring 114. It should be noted that in the normal position the shoulder 117 of the trip lever engages a projection on the disk 109 and prevents the movement of the member and its connected gear train.

WVhen it is desired to sound an alarm the rail 29 is displaced from its position of rest allowing movement of one of the cables 2 and its associated train of levers in the transfer unction, in the manner already described. The pivotal movement of the lever 4 1 permits the upward movement of the gong lever 66 through the medium of the tensioned cable 2. As the lever 66 moves upwardly the cam 76 impinges the plunger head 120 and forces the head and connected rod lat-- orally. Since the spring 80 is stronger than spring 11 1 the plunger in turn displaces the lever arm 112 from its position of engagement with the disk 109. lVhen the shoulder 117 is displaced beyond the circumferential plane of disk 109, the latter is then forced to rotate together with the striker shaft 108.

lVhen the device is reset, downward movement of the pedal 17 exerts a pull on the cable 2 which is transmitted through the lever system in the transfer junction and cable 2 to move the lever 60. This movement withdraws the cam 70 from engagement with the plunger 120 and allows unrestricted action of spring 114.- to rest the lever extension 117 in locking position.

It will now be appreciated that I have provioed an apparatus which eiliciently embodies the underlying principles of the invention. The apparatus composed of simple parts which are readily manufactured and are susceptible of easy instadation or replacement. By providing parts Which are interchangeable large initial and replacement cost economies are obtained. Inasmuch as the ef tivc motion transmission mechanism, that is to say the cables, are maintained under tension the device is automatically perable after an initial release of the trip mechanism. i'r feature of major importance also attends this provision for since the cables are normally tensioned, an attempt to dismantle the device or render it inoperative by severing any one of the ables serves to sound the alarm as elicctively as the mechanism designed for that purpose. The device then combines the ad- 'antages of positive operation with minimum maintenance cost.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention it is to be understood that this is purely for purposes of exemplification, for since the essential features may be incorporated in other specific mechanical structures, I do not intend to be limited to that shown and described except as such limitations are clearly imposed by the appended claims.

I claim: I

1. In an Operating mechanism for a mechanical alarm, tensioncd control member, and means to release the tension in said member, including a lever, a rail connected to the lever and a protective flange positioned above and extending over the rail.

2. In a device of the class described, a trip mechanism inclruling a lever having at one end a bushing engaging a pivot and an areaate plate at the other end and a cam intermediate said plate and bushing.

3. In an alarm, a signal sounding device, a plurality of cables operatively connected with the device, a spring connected with the cables, means operating through the cables to stretch the spring, means to equalize the teniii sion on said cables, means to maintain the spring in a stretched condition, and means tor releasing the tension in the cables to permit sounding the signal device. 4. In an alarm, a signalling device, a cable connected with the device and normally maintained under tension to control the operation of said device, a lever system connected with said cable, a plurality of release mechanisms 1 0 connected with said system, each being adapted upon operation to relieve the tension in the cable and permit the operation of the signalling device.

5. A transfer junction for a device of the character described comprising an actuating lever pivoted at one end, a floating lever connected to the actuating lever intermediate its ends, means connecting the actuating lever to a signal release mechanism and means connecting the floating level to a plurahty 0t operating devices.

6. In an alarm system, a gong, a plurality of flexible members operatively connected with the gong, means to place and maintain each or the flexible members under tension, means to equalize the tension among said flexible members, and means to relieve the tension in each of said flexible members.

7. In an alarm of the mechanical type, a

release mechanism comprising a rotatable pulley, acable secured to the periphery of the pulley and connected to a signal, means to normally retain the pulley in a predetermined position and means to release the retaining IIlGZIl'lS.

8. In an alarm of the mechanical type, a pulley, a cable secured to the periphery of the pulley and connected to a signal, means comprising a lug on the pulley and a pivoted lever 40 coacting with the lug, to retain the pulley in a predetermined position to hold the cable under tension.

9. In an alarm of the mechanical type, a pulley, a cable secured to the periphery of the pulley, a spring connected with the cable, means to rotate the pulley to place and hold the cable under tension, and means coacting directly with the pulley to release it.

10. In an alarm, a gong, a trip mechanism associated with the gong, a lever adjacent the trip mechanism, a spring connected to the lever and adapted to move the lever to actuate the trip mechanism, a tensioned cable adapted to restrain the operation of the leg ver, and a plurality of selectively operable means for releasing the tension in said cable to operate said lever, trip mechanism and 'ong. b In testimony whereof I aiflx my signature. 1 ADOLPH G. BRUECKMANN. 

